Sunday Spin 2: A rare thing

It is an unusual email that contains both an obvious lie and a great truth in close proximity. But initiative impresario Tim Eyman managed that with a missive sent out on Thursday as he ventured into the Seattle mayor’s race.

The obvious lie was in the subject line: “Join me @ 1 p.m., I’m helping Jessyn Farrell.” Eyman would no more help Farrell, a liberal Democratic legislator running for mayor, than she would accept his help.

The great truth was in the opening sentence: “As an expert at cheap media stunts…”

Eyman has dressed in a gorilla suit, a Darth Vader costume and an orange jump suit with duct tape over his mouth in various attempts to draw media attention to his initiatives or legislation that would restrict them. But he had no intention of helping Farrell, who opposes his latest initiative effort against Sound Transit. He was going to her press event at a future light rail station – which he considered a cheap stunt – to offer an opposing view.

As a Mukilteo resident, Eyman can’t even vote in the Seattle mayor’s race. If anything, Farrell was helping him by assembling reporters and television cameras in a convenient place for him to talk about his initiative. Which brings up the question: Who was actually engaging in a cheap media stunt?